Avro Shackleton

Overview

Designed by A.V. Roe as a replacement for the US Lend-Lease aircraft such as the Consolidated Liberator, the Avro Shackleton entered service with 120 Squadron in March 1951. A further five squadrons were equipped with the aircraft, with an additional three aircraft being sent to the Air Sea Warfare Unit at St Mawgan. Mark 1 Shackletons were deployed by RAF Coastal Command as part of the NATO requirement for patrols over the Atlantic. The Mark 2 came into service in 1953, with some squadrons operating both the Mark 1 and Mark 2. The Mark 2s were deployed worldwide, including during the Suez crisis and the Oman rebellion in a number of RAF colonial policing operations during the 1950s and 60s. A.V. Roe continued to develop the Shackleton, working on complaints from squadrons about the aircraft’s noise and fatigue, the result was the production of the Mark 3 in 1956. Built in different phases, 34 Mark 3s entered service with the RAF and eight with the SAAF. The phase 3 with Viper jet assistance, along with the other Mark 2s and 3s were the backbone of RAF Coastal Command until it was disbanded in 1969. The Shackleton found a new role in 1972 as Britain’s Airborne Early Warning aircraft. This role required the Shackleton AEW.2 to patrol Britain’s airspace plotting and coordinating the interception of Warsaw Pact aircraft. Due to the failure of an AEW BAe Nimrod the Shackleton remained in service until 1991 when it was replaced by the Boeing E3D Sentry.